3 Talking Points Following Success on Kickstarter

You've just successfully funded your product or service on Kickstarter. It might have taken you a couple of attempts, especially if you are a newcomer to your industry. There are a select few Kickstarter campaigns that not only reach their goals the first time around but completely blow by the goals in question. Whatever the case might have been for you, Kickstarter proved to be effective and you now have the means necessary to follow up on what you have proposed.

However, you may ask yourself the question, "Now what?" How do I follow up on my success to ensure that my project is able to come to fruition? How should I go about this so that my pledgers feel as though they haven't wasted their time or money? On Kickstarter, it isn't enough to propose an idea. You have to follow up on what you've promised.

Here are 3 talking points to consider once you've attained success on Kickstarter.

Updates

Unlike major companies that do not require crowdsourcing, you should make it a point to keep your fans in the loop every step of the way. You may have some good news for your fans, such as added features that they did not know about when they initially made their pledges. If you want to let your supporters feel like they made the right choice supporting your project, some extra bells and whistles never hurt.

With that said, you will also have to keep your audience updated if there are any setbacks during development. For instance, what if you are a video game developer and the initial time you've stated simply isn't enough to work out all of the kinks? Don't be afraid to let your backers know. They may be disappointed but the fact that you are quick about informing your public can only help your reputation.

Evidence

Backers want to know how well projects are going and what better way to do this than with evidence? Photographs can be shown, displaying where exactly these projects are at and what is needed in order for them to be finalized. Ideally, an Internet marketing firm will suggest video content, since it's easier than pictures to take at face value. Of course, depending on the type of medium, various adjustments and edits may be required for projects.

Going back to the video game example, you should make it a point to post videos featuring game play. Not only should you let your audience in on how your game appears but how it play and its fluidity while in motion. Not only will these types of videos excite your backers but it's likely that your project will attain support from those who might have been on the fence earlier. When you're in the process of gaining support, follow this simple rule: show, don't tell.

Honesty

One can make the argument that many Kickstarter projects aren't beholden to what they promise their backers. After all, it's not like backers are preordering products; they are offering money to ensure that said products are furthered in the way of development. However, the best projects are ones that entail honesty. From a strictly moral standpoint, when certain things are promised by companies, those promises should be fulfilled.

One of the most notable examples of this was a Kickstarter-funded board game called, "The Doom That Came To Atlantic City." Even though this project attained $122,874 - far exceeding its initial $30,000 goal - the project was cancelled afterwards. To put it simply, the funds were not used for their intended purpose. Fortunately, a card and board game company by the name of Cryptozoic Entertainment stepped up and published the game, giving copies to those who backed the project in the first place. Imagine what would happen, though, if the project wasn't picked up by a company with the means to produce results.

It's because of stories like these that many individuals are on the fence about backing Kickstarter projects and understandably so. Companies have to work hard to ensure individuals that their support will not be treated with the utmost respect.